


Golden Weapon (RE)

by Xardogn



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, Fix-It, Gen, M/M, rewrite of old fic, some elements of FFVIIR
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:14:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24067933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xardogn/pseuds/Xardogn
Summary: Deep in the Lifestream, voices of the past and future rang out for a new Champion, one to save all the lives fated to be killed. He was created from their dreams to lead everyone to the promised land. And thus, the Golden WEAPON was born.aka. This time we're going to save everyone.
Relationships: Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 8
Kudos: 73





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so, it's pretty obivously a rewrite of my old fic, but with the remake out I'm super excited again about it. There are definitely going to be different events and relations (please ignore my depressed barely 20's writing of the other one) but the plot is still generally the same.
> 
> I hope everyone is doing well in this time, and if I can bring even a little enjoyment, I'm glad I could do something.
> 
> Link to the original:   
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/1415887/chapters/2974183

The Planet knew. 

Deep within the Lifestream, memories stirred. Of things to come, things yet to pass, and the rising threat.

Jenova, the Calamity, was rising again. 

The Whispers cried out louder than the voices that fate must be followed for Jenova’s cradle to truly be destroyed. But a quieter voice silenced them.  
She. And He. The chorus of those after, of those who would then come before. They told tales to Gaia’s children of a phoenix burning bright, a beautiful promised land, and a golden WEAPON that they so adored. 

Why cannot these ones be saved, they asked. Why cannot we change this fate?

The Whispers grew louder.

The Lifestream did not. For the hearts of the Golden People were touched by the last of their kind. To truly lead them to the promised land, the Whispers of fates were ignored. Fate is too cruel, destiny too unkind. 

A WEAPON was born of their shattered hopes and dreams, the gentle desire of the hearts that came after. So now they waited. If their last wishes for the future were to be poured into this wish, let it be so. No longer were the people of Gaia beholden to a cruel end-

And again this time around, they wait.

Because things will be different.


	2. Weakness

Professor Hojo considered himself of a scientific mind, with emotion rarely getting in the way of his never-ending pursuit of discovery. Yet today, on this very unremarkable day, he found himself feeling something indescribable.

Hojo detested the amount of paperwork that piled up with the responsibilities of his office. It was truly maddening the only way to get any work or funding done around here was to engage in bureaucracy, but for now he had to bite the bullet.

Looking over the current SOLDIER recruits mako scores was at least above staring at yet another more efficient mako reactor design, so he skimmed for any interesting subjects. It was the usual fare of hardheaded brutes, most probably relegated to mindless cannon fodder, far from his beautiful, perfect Seph-

His hand stopped, trembling slightly on the next page. There had to be a mistake in this print-out, so he read it over again. It wasn’t physically possible, but this recruit had mako compatibility and reactivity levels so off the charts that they were basically meaningless at this point.

Was this shriveled up emotion in his heart joy? Was that his pulse pounding faster? Hojo feverishly dug into past files, pulling up two relevant cases: Sephiroth (his perfect soldier) and a long forgotten Vincent Valentine.

Briefly he wondered whatever happened to the Turk, but he had quickly outgrown his usefulness, and the attachment to Lucrecia was…problematic to say the least. That didn’t matter; Hojo shook his head, freeing it of unnecessary thoughts. Comparing the three side to side, he saw what he’d almost been hoping for; this random recruit’s scores were higher than even Sephiroth’s! There were unique signatures in some of the reactive enzymes similar to that of Valentine’s, but that did little more than explain a possible connection with the Planet.

And if that were true….

Hojo couldn’t let Shinra get his hands on this one. Oh, if he found his answers, he didn’t care what the hell happened to him after that, but without a genetic sample and a reactivity test to S-cells, there were too many unknowns. He wasn’t restrained enough to stop himself from rubbing his hands together, but he had every reason to celebrate. If only the subject had been female….but there was still the matter of the Ancient girl in the slums. Surely the General Affairs department could be bothered to help out if he found them a new lead to their golden Promised Land. As for him, just the process of dissecting this sent him into a tizzy. A boy with a connection to the Planet, of unknown origin; a chance to learn so much more about the truth that was eluding him.

But the question was how to get him before he was KIA or spirited off by another branch. Hojo had the final say in who became a SOLDIER, but that was not enough. He needed to disappear the boy. And there was no easier way to do that than to a trooper.

He marked the profile as failed, only briefly glancing back to read the name. _Cloud Strife?_ A nobody from Nibelheim. _Oh, how I would dearly love for us to meet._

* * *

The paper crumpled up in his hand as he fought with himself not to punch the mirror or wall.

_Cloud Strife does not meet the requirements for SOLDIER. We thank you for your participation, and hope to see you again next year._

Yeah, like fuck they would. Cloud finally lost it and threw his body into the wall of the tiny bathroom, sliding down it with a dull thump. In his heart of hearts, somehow he knew this was the only conclusion. The kids back in his village were right-the other guys in his squad-the whole damn universe really. Cloud clenched his fists, pressing them into his eyes and trying to will the tears that were escaping away. The last thing he needed was for some random soldier to walk in on him crying like a baby. 

But he couldn’t help it. All that kept flashing through his mind was his mother, his promise to Tifa, all the work and hopes and dreams he had just crumbling into dust. He could never look at either of them in the face again. He couldn’t return, not like this.

_Breathe deeply, Cloud. Please don’t fucking lose it._

He couldn’t bear to look at the page again, just tearing it into shreds and throwing it in the trash, slowly pulling himself up from the floor. Why had he ever thought this was a good idea? Cloud had always been too weak for this kind of thing, and what was he doing, trying to prove to Tifa he really could be a hero? That his mother could have a son she could be proud of?

He couldn’t sit around forever, he knew that. He was still a member of the standing army, and there were plenty of missions to go on. There was always next year.

There was always next year.

* * *

Thankfully, Cloud’s squadmates could tell he was in a foul mood, and left him alone for the most part the next few days. He’d never been very sociable to begin with, and now he couldn’t even talk to anyone without nearly biting their head off.

It came as a bit of a surprise that he was selected for a sudden mission to Modeoheim, complete with a SOLDIER first class and a Turk to boot. No one would answer any of his questions about what exactly the hell was going on, so he just gave up and slid back into his depressed silence.

Probably because it was a snowy region. Maybe Shinra had a sense of humor.

The SOLDIER hadn’t looked like anyone remarkable at first; he was tall and handsome, and something tugged at Cloud to relax and let himself be friendly. The man couldn’t have been much older than him and seemed to know the pilot, the other trooper, even the Turk coming along on the mission. This just caused Cloud to curl more in on himself, especially when the SOLDIER turned his now radiant smile on himself.

Show-off.

Then, they got on the helicopter and Cloud quickly forgot about being grumpy. His motion-sickness had kicked in full swing, and this time his refusal to talk to the SOLDIER was less due to moodiness and more to not wanting to puke all over the Turk’s helicopter. Said SOLDIER kept sending him concerned looks, but the ride passed with relative silence.

“I might remind you what’s at stake at this mission,” The turk said to the SOLDIER, causing the other’s expression to darken.

“I know, I know. I don’t need reminding, all right? I’m just….I’m gonna at least try.” The SOLDIER’s leg was bouncing up and down, and now Cloud started seeing the signs of restless energy. Was he trying to distract himself?

Cloud’s thoughts were quickly cut short as the helicopter gave a huge jolt to the side, and he was nearly thrown out of his seat. Nausea forgotten, he gripped the back, looking around wildly.

“The hell was that?!” The SOLDIER yelled, looking out the window before another, more violent shutter ran through the chopper and there was a screeching sound.

_By the Goddess, please don’t let us crash._

He could hear the Turk saying something, but as the floor dropped beneath them, all he could focus on was the downward spiral, rolling and tumbling until-


	3. Whispers

Well, he was alive, if his aching body was any sort of indication. Pushing himself up out of the snow, Cloud found that he’d somehow been thrown out of the twisted wreckage rising up behind him. _I could’ve died in that._ How exactly had he survived? He heard the SOLDIER and the Turk in front of him talking, because of course they’d be fine as a strange shadow brushed past his face. He scrambled up, almost face planting in his haste.

It didn’t look like much, almost like a grey smear against the snowy backdrop, but he swore it almost looked like a cloak. “What the hell is that?”

His own voice came to him as a surprise, as well as the other two who had looked in the direction he was. The grey ghost was already disappearing into the snow, but the SOLDIER was squinting like he’d spotted it. “You’re right. That’s…did that come out of the helicopter?”

“What are you talking about? Did you hit your head on the way down? If we hadn’t crashed, we’d be in Modeoheim right now,” The Turk said, checking his curiously undamaged phone.

Cloud and the SOLDIER looked back, but there was nothing there. Were they really just seeing things from the trauma of the crash? The trooper slowly shook his head. Maybe the Turk was right. It could’ve been a monster, or a spectre, or even something these insurgents had sent. They needed to focus on the mission and getting out alive.

The SOLDIER looked back and forth between Cloud and the Turk, but eventually sighed and gave up. “Okay, let’s mosey then.”

* * *

Cloud, still a bit stunned from the crash landing, learned that a second trooper had survived even if he was suffering in the back with Tseng, the Turk he’d finally learned the name of. The SOLDIER, having introduced himself as Zack, was having an easy time tramping through the rugged terrain. Being a native of Nibelheim this was nothing for him, and he told Zack as much when he asked.

“Me? I’m from Gongaga,” Zack said proudly, causing Cloud to snort in return.

“Hey, what’s so funny about that?! You know Gongaga?”

“No, but it’s such a backwater name.”

The conversation was so natural that for a moment Cloud forgot he was talking to a first class SOLDIER, even taking his helmet off and introducing himself when Zack was searching for his name. “Cloud. I’m Cloud.”

“…Cloud. Me and Cloud here are both backwater experts!” Zack shouted back to the Turk, who probably was contemplating murder at this point. “Oh yeah.”

Some of the cheer seemed a little forced, but it was still enough for Cloud to relax minutely, forgetting about his troubles for the moment. The SOLDIER’s enthusiasm was pretty infectious.

* * *

Cloud was suddenly thanking whatever people in the Lifestream were still looking out for him, because meeting Zack was the best thing that had happened in these past few months. He knew he was bad at making friends; he was shy, moody, and unsociable. No one in his home village liked him except for Tifa, and even she had been indifferent at first. It was hard for him to talk to people.

That didn’t matter at all to Zack. He made for pleasant conversation, clearly happy to see someone else keeping up with him and listening to everything he said. Cloud mostly kept himself to a sentence here or there, but he slowly was opening up under pressure.

It didn’t help that Cloud’s uncanny knack for sensing when monsters were near and-with a little coaching from the SOLDIER-him shooting them down earned a fair share of praise. Cloud’s cheeks were burning, and all he could hope for was that Zack couldn’t see it.

Finally getting to a ridge overlooking the camp, they stopped to let the others catch up. The silence fell, heavy and solid, and for the first time Cloud wished he had something to say to break it. All it did was bring back the misery of what his future was like. Zack had complimented him and made him feel less of a failure, but to pretty much everyone else…

“Hey, Zack?” Cloud asked quietly, the weight of the fact that Zack really was a first class SOLDIER, someone respected by the silver general himself.

“Hmm?”

“What’s it like…to be in SOLDIER?” Cloud instantly felt like an idiot when Zack looked back at him confused. He was cursing his existence as finally the SOLDIER put a hand on his shoulder.

“Well, once you join, you’ll know what it’s like,” Zack said, his smile never faltered. Cloud almost felt the sting of tears again, turning away quickly to hide his expression. Either Zack never saw or the mission was more important, but Cloud followed behind, his eyes always trained on the sword resting in the SOLDIER’s hands.

_If I can join, that is…._

* * *

And just as quickly ,the element of stealth was lost. Cloud, on the lookout with Tseng, just glanced over at him to see the man shaking his head.

“Is he always like this?” Cloud put forward almost hesitantly.

“Unfortunately.” Tseng’s tone was flat, but definitely laced with annoyance. “Come on. We need to ensure that Hollander doesn’t escape in the chaos. You, follow Zack. He’s probably leaving a trail and could be attracting unwanted attention. If you encounter the target, contact me on my PHS. You, come with me.”

The Turk gestured to the other trooper, leaving Cloud to hurriedly nod, readying his weapon as the three of them made their way quickly down the ridge.

It was easy to track Zack, like Tseng said. There were a trail of bodies, both monster and human leading down the silent walkways. Stopping by some of the soldiers, he saw that they had wings, and a strange decay clinging to their outside. Something in his stomach turned, and Cloud rushed forward to the elevator to bring himself down.

What was going on? There was something almost viscerally disturbing about the bodies, and he was starting to wonder if there was more going on here than anyone was telling him-

Cloud didn’t have much more time to think when the doors opened up, revealing Zack locking swords with a strange auburn-haired man, and Hollander, who was standing on the side, rushing towards the now open escape route.

“Cloud, get him!” He could hear Zack yell, and he did, but the man had advantage of both size and desperation, and twisted himself violently from his grip. There was no time, but Cloud still glanced back at Zack and the man fighting, who was looking increasingly degraded like the bodies on the floor. Zack’s desperate shout shook him out of his confusion, and he pulled out his PHS as he climbed the stairs.

Reaching the top flight, he rendezvoused with Tseng, having received his call about Hollander escaping.

“Sorry, I…tried to keep up with him…he escaped,” Cloud wheezed out between breaths.

“No matter, I saw him going through the tunnels. We need to move quickly,” Tseng said, looking down at him.

“But Zack-“  
“Can take care of himself. He can catch up with us later,” The Turk said, nodding sharply when Cloud finally got his breath back. “This way.”

More of the strange mutated monsters attacked them along the way, but if they could run, they went for it. Cloud even beat one off with the butt of his rifle, only to nearly run into Tseng as the man stopped suddenly.

They had arrived at a long abandoned hot springs, and the trail of footsteps led in there. Not wanting to be a liability to the Turk, Cloud lifted his rifle, covering their back as they entered the decrepit building. It was eerily quiet, and for a moment he thought they went the wrong way. But as Tseng suddenly stiffened and his instincts screamed _get down, THERE’S SOMEONE BEHIND YOU,_ he realized they had found a much bigger threat.

Throwing himself to the ground had let himself avoid Angeal Hewley’s blade, but there was a spark from Tseng’s gun, and the man raised it again.

“Not bad,” He said in a deep voice. “But this is the furthest you’ll get.”

The Turk only lasted for a few more moments before getting thrown to the side, Cloud calling out his name. “Tseng-Tseng!”

He had little more time to talk when the man’s hand wrapped around his throat, physically lifting him off the ground. Cloud struggled, digging his nails in and even kicking the man straight in the ribs, but nothing phased him. Wasn’t he and Zack close? Why had they been sent on this mission? Why was Zack a part of this??

“Tell Zack I’m waiting for him,” He said, and Cloud looked back one last time into his eyes. He was almost shocked to see them hold no animosity, no rage, just a deep unforgiving despair. There was a moment where Cloud knew, he _understood,_ but then Angeal threw him into a pile of rubble and it all went fuzzy from there.

* * *

There was a shadow over him at some point, asking him desperately if he was okay. Cloud thinks he replied, and he knows Tseng did, but whether any of it made sense was lost to him. He sat there, the world slowly coming back into focus in pieces, when all of a sudden his vision went green.

He’d gotten dreams when he was younger, of a terrifying expanse of light and a river of mako, but there had always been some strange comforting presences sitting with him as he cried. This time was different. He was still conscious, _being pulled, deeper into the emptiness._

_That’s when Cloud finally saw her. There was a beautiful lady, standing in the middle of a field of flowers. They were brighter than anything he’d ever seen, and so was she. She seemed so full of life, tendrils of the Lifestream curling around her like a loved one, and her eyes were as green as the leaves._

_“Hm? Oh? It’s you!” She put her hands up to her mouth, as if to hide her glee._

_“Who are you?”_

_“No one told me you were so cute like this!! Oh, I’m so sad I never got to meet you,” she said, her eyes sparkling. The woman was older than him by several years, yet somehow she felt familiar. “Oh, I’m Aerith. That’s rude of me to not introduce myself, Cloud.”_

_“How…what?”_

_“I don’t really know myself. Sometimes the voices are just too loud. But it’s important that I speak to you like this.” Aerith leaned forward, her bangs drooping. For some reason he could almost catch a glimpse of something shiny in her hair._

_Suddenly, the grey ghost from before dove between them, driving Cloud back with a gust of wind._

_“No, don’t-I can’t let it happen!” Aerith’s voice was pleading, but more and more of the grey ghost started appearing. Their faces were empty, and they chilled Cloud to the bone. He tried to move towards her, but it was like he was buried in mud. The ghosts were between him, pulling him back, shielding the woman from talking to him._

_Suddenly, there was a surge of light, and Aerith’s hands grabbed his. He couldn’t see her, he could barely hear her voice, but every single word of what she said resonated in his soul. “Please, something bad is about to happen. You can’t let it!”_

_“But I-I can’t do anything!” Cloud shouted back, desperate to hold on. The force sucking him back was getting stronger and stronger._

_“You can! I’ve seen what you’re capable of. What you could be capable of. You’re more than enough. Please, I can’t bear the Planet crying out like this anymore. I believe in you, just like we all did. **Beloved of the planet** -“_

_Aerith’s voice cut off and he was thrown backwards, down into the empty abyss, into the green oblivion_

And back. He stumbled upwards, unsure of where he was, what was happening in the moment. Cloud took stock of his surroundings; Tseng sitting against the wall, a materia glowing in his hands. Footprints that lead away, and the memory of Zack leaning over him.

Aerith.

Something bad was about to happen. Cloud flexed his hand, seeing sparkles of light flicker off of him, then took off down the passageway. Something was driving him and he didn’t know if it was his strange dream, his worry for Zack, or just sheer terror. Climbing along the pipes, he heard angry voices shouting up ahead, and his heart sank. _That can’t be anything good._

“I am perfect….a perfect monster,” He heard Angeal’s voice. Finally spotting them, he looked over at Zack and nearly broke right then and there. They were poised to fight each other. Zack’s face was pale, and his hands were shaking. Cloud suddenly understood what was driving Zack; the edges around his friendly face.

They were student and mentor, weren’t they? And now they were about to face off in a fight.

Something bad was going to happen.

Without thinking, Cloud dropped down, grabbing the closest object-a rock-a throwing it as hard as he could at Angeal Hewley’s head. It took both the combatants by surprise, as well as their audience of Hollander himself, and Zack’s eyes somehow grew even rounder when he spotted Cloud himself.

Now that there attention was on him, he suddenly realized he didn’t know what to say. This felt like a crossroads, and outside the building he could hear the screams of those grey ghosts circling. He didn’t know Angeal, he barely knew Zack. But he couldn’t watch his friend kill someone like that. Not with an expression like that.

“You…what’s going on?” Cloud stared them both down.

“Cloud, stay out of this, okay? I can handle it-“ Zack said, quickly trying to insert himself between the trooper and Angeal.

“There’s only one way this can end,” Angeal said, like nothing had changed. The giant metal sword raised slightly. “Where is your pride? Will you just let your enemy escape?”

The defection. A betrayal, almost. And now Shinra sending the one person who knew him best to clean up the mess. It was enough to make him sick.

But Angeal’s eyes had been so…..dark. That was not the look of someone ready to kill.

“You could’ve killed me when you had the chance.” Somehow, Cloud’s quiet voice cut between the two, turning their attention towards him again.

“Cloud-“

“You could have. But you didn’t. Why was that? You don’t know me. I barely even know Zack,” He said, taking a step forward with every beat.

Angeal’s expression twisted into something unrecognizable. Zack, glancing between the two, clearly had no idea how to handle this.

“You don’t know anything,” Angeal growled, stiffening his hold on the sword. Somewhere behind them Hollander was accusing them of something, but at this point no one was listening. Cloud kept coming forward.

It felt like a moment trapped in time, until finally, he was right next to Zack. He could feel the nervous energy, the desperate breaths the SOLDIER was taking, and he couldn’t. He couldn’t let this happen. Zack, who had shown him such kindness in the space of a few hours, also while knowing he’d likely execute the main who trained him.

Angeal glared down at him, and Cloud stared back. He felt surreal, almost like in the dream, but he didn’t back down. “Why the hell didn’t you kill me?”

The sword lowered a fraction.

“Angeal, you can’t-“ Zack had a hand on Cloud’s shoulder, trying to pull him back, but neither of them could be budged.

“I have no place among humans anymore. You’ve seen me, both. I am your enemy now. The one who creates suffering,” Angeal said.

“No, you’re not, that’s not true-“ Zack was desperate until Angeal cut him off.

“How can you still feel that way? I am selfish, sending you after Genesis to prepare you for this. To make you do this.” Angeal’s voice was steel, but his eyes were….

“Yes, you are a beast, aren’t you? It’s time you showed everyone the horrors a monster like you is capable of!” Hollander sounded gleeful.

“ _Shut the hell up_.” Zack’s voice radiated out such bloodlust that it silenced even Angeal’s further protests.

“Then kill me now.” Cloud’s words tasted like ash in his mouth. It was all too much to bear. He didn’t know what to say. Aerith’s words kept echoing to him, but really, why would anyone put faith in him? He couldn’t change so quickly, not with the eyes of a man wanting to die.

Angeal’s sword lowered again, and Cloud’s breath caught in his throat. Zack took the moment to shove him backwards. “Don’t drag him into this-this is between you and me!”

At that, the older man almost looked taken aback. “I have no use for honor anymore-“

“Sephiroth sent me to find you!”

Angeal’s sword hit the ground, and for the first time, Cloud breathed. They had been close? He never knew. He didn’t know anything.

“He….what?” Angeal sounded hollow.

“He did. He just told me to bring you guys back. You and Genesis,” Zack said, tightening his own grip. “I can’t lose you, Angeal.”

A sense of danger had passed and the howling of the ghosts had disappeared outside, bringing in an eerie silence. Hollander, seeing his plan begin to fail, seemed to be looking for escape, but at that moment several things happened at once.

Tseng appeared, gun in hand, shooting the man in the calf, Hollander screaming out in pain. Angeal surged forward in front of both Zack and Cloud, and a loud roar echoed in the building. Cloud had Zack’s arm in a death grip at this point, and it suddenly dawned on him that he might actually be killed.

“Tseng don’t-“ Zack called out, but the Turk pointed his gun anyway.

“I’m sure you know what my orders are,” Tseng said, ignoring Zack’s protests.

“I am not going back to Shinra, not like this.” With that, there was suddenly a huge crashing noise and the building around them exploded into pieces. Cloud lost his grip, but he heard the sound of unfurling feathers, rushing wind, and then silence.


End file.
